Open city

When it comes to open space and parks, Worcester has a lot to crow about. And soon, the city will add another 13.7 acres of open space to its inventory.

This parcel, appropriately, is adjacent to the Crow Hill Conservation Restriction and across from the Ecotarium.

The City Council will be asked to accept a deed from the Worcester Natural History Society for the property. The $470,000 purchase price is being met with a $329,000 state grant for land acquisition, and $141,000 from the Greater Worcester Land Trust, which will hold a conservation restriction on the property.

But the financial details, while important to getting the job done, are less important than two overriding realities.

First, real estate is a finite resource. They just aren't making any more land in the city of Worcester, and once a parcel is developed, it is difficult or impossible to return it to the undeveloped column.

Second, a city needs its breathing spaces. A Worcester without Green Hill, Elm, and Institute parks, shorn of Newton Hill, devoid of Crompton Park, and deprived of the Common, would be a poorer place.

We congratulate all involved in saving this parcel, and helping to make the city that much more open and liveable.